Communal Repairs Log

Who this is for

Every repair to the shared parts, start to finish. The log records when each fault was reported, who fixed it, how long it took and what it cost, so the history is to hand when a leaseholder asks what the service charge paid for.

Residents' association and management company directors, volunteer block managers and leaseholders who keep their own record of what happens in the common parts.

What this helps you track

• Every communal fault reported, with where it was and who fixed it
• How many days each repair took from report to completion
• What each repair cost and whether it came from the service charge or the reserve
• The invoice reference that backs up each cost
• Repairs still open, repairs closed and the year's total spend

How to use it

1. Write the building, the year and who keeps the log in the header.
2. Add a line as soon as a fault is reported, with the date, where it is and what is wrong.
3. When the work is done, fill in the contractor, the completion date, the cost and the fund it was paid from.
4. Copy the invoice number into the last column so any figure can be traced back to paper.
5. The days taken, totals and open count are worked out in the browser and the workbook; on paper, count the days and add up the costs at the foot of each page.
6. Keep the year's log with the service charge accounts so it can be shown to anyone who asks.

Formats

• Printable PDF (A4 and US Letter)
• Fillable PDF with form fields
• Fill in online, saved in your browser
• Excel / Google Sheets workbook

The printable is laid out inside a box that fits both A4 and US Letter, so the two files are identical and neither one is scaled. The fillable PDF has real form fields. The workbook uses plain formulas only — SUM, IF, COUNTIF and the like — so it opens in Excel, LibreOffice and Google Sheets without anything breaking, and every calculated cell is grey so you can see which figures it worked out.

How to print

Download the A4 or US Letter file to match the paper in your printer, open it in a PDF reader and print at 100% — not "fit to page", which shrinks the writing space. Both files leave a 14 mm margin, which clears the unprintable edge on home printers. To print the online version with your entries in it, use the Print this sheet button, which prints only the sheet and none of the page around it. More on printing.

Questions

Which repairs belong on this log?

Anything in the parts of the building that everyone shares and pays for together, such as the entrance, stairs, roof, lift, lighting and grounds. Repairs inside a flat that a leaseholder pays for alone belong in their own records.

What does 'paid from' mean?

Whether the cost came out of the day-to-day service charge budget or the reserve fund. Which fund pays for what is set by your lease and your own budget decisions, so use the headings your building works to.

Why record the days to complete?

It shows which faults sat unresolved and which contractors were quick, which helps when choosing who to use next time and when answering complaints about delays.

How does this differ from the lift breakdown log?

This log covers every communal repair in one place. A lift has its own pattern of call-outs and engineer visits, so the lift breakdown and call-out log keeps that detail separately.